A Sacramento Bee editorial says:
Whether Proposition 93 ends up a winner or loser, it will mark a missed opportunity. Had legislative leaders coupled this measure with redistricting reform, they might have convinced many more voters to support a change in term limits. Instead, they backpedaled on promises and became obsessed with a measure that was largely designed to help them maintain their hold on power.
Steve Poizner’s op-ed at the conservative Flash Report:
The proponents of 93 promised to bundle redistricting reform with the term limits extensions in Prop 93. It not right for there to be no consequences for political leaders when they renege on an important promise–not once but twice.
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Now that Prop 93 is behind us this Legislature needs to listen to the voters and get down to doing the people’s business, addressing the key issues of the day – from the state’s chronic budget deficit to health care to education to the economy and redistricting reform.
Even a post yesterday from a blog called Finding Balance in San Francisco advising voters to vote yes on 93 said:
The talk after the 2006 election was that California should change the way legislative districts are drawn and that this should be coupled with improvements to term limits. However, redistricting conversations stalled out for a number of reasons, not the least of which was the reluctance of California’s congressional representatives to lose their ability to draw their own districts. So, redistricting will have to wait, but the term limits proposition still made the cut. (Although redistricting won’t happen until the 2012 elections, so there’s still time to pass a reform.) From a reformers point of view, though, I can see how frustrating it is though that the reform that the Legislature wanted more qualified for the ballot, while the reform that they weren’t as wild about somehow couldn’t qualify. Shocking.
Stephen Bainbridge advised readers to vote no:
I’m amenable to rethinking term limits, but only in the context of a comprehensive election reform package that took on redistricting as well.
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